Finding the Joy of Teaching in Thailand… Geraldine Gulle Daray Pugoy

Finding the Joy of Teaching in Thailand…

GERALDINE GULLE DARAY PUGOY
By Fiel Angeli E. Araoarao – Gabin
(FOR SUNDAY POST. Sunday, November 12, 2006 issue. Thank you very much!)

Reporting back to the office after the May 1 fiesta could be very tiring. Tagbilaranons, especially those who make it a point to prepare gastronomic treats for the visitors or fiesta goers, would rather take a few days off from the office to relish the time to stay home to rest or simply be with their families. However, in May 2005, it was rather exciting for me, after Lawrence L. Medilo, our systems administrator, handed me a print-out of the e-mail from a certain “Gege Pugoy.” She started her message by saying that she got my name from the City Government of Tagbilaran website. She introduced herself as a Boholana working as an English (English as a Foreign Language) teacher in Thailand.

Geraldine “Gege” Gulle Daray Pugoy was practically a stranger to me, but it was flattering to have received an e-mail from somebody I didn’t know. I was even more interested when she told me she hopes I could help her with her project: as part of their school’s English curriculum, she, together with four (4) other teachers, will be bringing to Bohol 10 students from the Kanlayaneesithammarat (KN) School in Nakhonsrithammarat, one of the provinces in Thailand, our ASEAN neighbor known for many years as “Siam.” (In the 20th century, the country changed its name to “Thailand” meaning “land of the free people.”) I was told that a significant component of the youth exchange program was that 10 students and 5 teachers from Holy Spirit School will also be given the chance to do the same program for two (2) weeks in Thailand, with free accommodation from host families.

After getting the approval of Sister Mary Joy B. Quizan, SSpS, Holy Spirit School director and exchanging e-mails from May till the last week of September 2005, Gege and I (thinking primarily of the PAASCU accreditation) were ready for the Thailand - Philippines - Holy Spirit School Youth Exchange Program from October 9 to 22, 2005. Mrs. Virgilia A. Fudolig, HS principal, student leaders led by Lyn Limboy, Jean Joan S. Ibba and Chryst Dalumbar (Gege’s Boholano colleagues in Thailand) and I went to the Tagbilaran City Airport last October 9 to welcome the group composed of Mayuree Karikarn, English program director, Usa Siwamok, KN School director, Booncherd Pimsen, assistant director, Scottish teacher John Andrew “Geordie” Robson with his wife Big, and the students Natawan Tirakijpanichakorn, Praew Siripasert, Sumukal Pleangrat, Chayanis Suddhavichai, Vanidcha Mahattanan, Araya Thongsame, Naruporn Noo-Samien, Phattaraporn Potjanametha, Yawaree Pantaweesak and Phattaraporn Phithakham. (Part of the beautiful friendship forged between HSS and KNS was the pioneering sisterhood covenant signed by Sister Joy, school director and Mayuree, KN School English program director which stated that the same number of HSS teachers and students will have the experience of culture in Thailand, as they did in January this year (the same time Lola Pining got really sick and died).

Gege told me that Kanlayaneesithammarat School is a large government school situated in the center of the city of Nakhonsrithammarat, Southern Thailand, with a student population of 3,500, with ages ranging from 11to18 years old. The KN English Program (EP) is housed in a separate building, home to an estimated 250 fee-paying students who are taught some of their subjects in the English language. The EP students are taught by qualified and experienced Western and Asian teachers and are also given the opportunity to do many interesting activities including having to go to several English Camps to Malaysia, Singapore and other Asian countries each year. Last year, their trip was different as the students from Grades 9 and 10 attended classes and stayed with host families, with the objective of providing them with learning experiences that foster insights, cultural appreciation, and meaningful friendships.

Ajarn (Teacher) Gege, the school’s English camp organizer, born on November 23, 1975 in Sierra-Bullones, is the eldest child of Zosimo Atup Daray (deceased) and Norma Nituda Gulle of Cogtong, Candijay, Bohol. She was valedictorian when she finished elementary at Cogtong Elementary School and high school at Bohol School of Fisheries (now Central Visayas State College of Agriculture, Forestry and Technology – Candijay Campus) and was conferred the “Most Outstanding Student” award during her college graduation at Agusan Institute of Technology, Butuan City.

As mother to three (3)-year-old son Verm Gerald Pugoy, she takes the pleasure of having to shuffle motherhood and a full-time career, with very little time left for sleep. “The reason I like living here in Nakhon so much is that it's a great town. It's not too big and yet big enough to have what you need on a daily basis. It's also close to mountains, beaches, waterfalls and islands, so it's a great location… I'll tell you this (Thailand) is a very nice country - food, clothes and almost everything are super cheap!” Having lived in Thailand for the past 11 years, together with her husband, Vernizo Piloton Pugoy, a seafarer turned ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher, she feels like it’s her second home, having gotten used to its diverse culture and background, the usual Thai diet consisting of rice and fish prepared with curry and sauce, with the abundance of tropical fruits such as bananas, durian, jackfruits, mangoes and mangosteen.

Gege worked in Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Prachinburi and in 2000, started teaching at the KNEP. “I feel very fortunate to be part of this English Program and have and still am thoroughly enjoying myself here. The reasons I have enjoyed my stay so much are varied; my fellow staff members, very helpful colleagues and above all, excellent students. The students always make me feel good even when I'm feeling low ... their intelligence, sense of humor and their general outlook in life makes it a pleasure to come to school. I feel truly honored to be the one teaching them,” she shares.

Her other inclinations are reading, traveling, languages, fashion and bright colors. Actively involved as adviser of the Filipino Association in the South of Thailand (FAST), she also takes pride being the writer and producer of the ‘The Best English Radio Show in the South of Thailand’ as she beams “ I am so proud to be the one in-charge of this program.”
Gege, like her husband Verni, my Boholano friends and teacher-Friendster buddies Purissa Buaya Plaras (Carmen), Chryst Dalumbar, Diana Lyn Leopando de Castro and John Jasper Castillo Cortes (Tagbilaran City), Michael Ortega Ligalig (Anda), Prince Paul and Roseth Ranara, and even international dancesport champions Jonathan Cajes Reyson (Tagbilaran City and Talibon) and Cherrel Justiniani Deiparine (Inabanga) may be far away from home, but they certainly have found success and the joy of working in Thailand.
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According to Gege, “I really believe that poverty is not a hindrance to success. I was born and raised in a poor family, but I don’t find it a problem in getting what I’ve wanted in life. Instead, I always consider it as a challenge. With confidence in myself and the blessings from up above, I was able to achieve what I’ve dreamt of… What goes around, comes around, and so forth. I believe that with life, you get what you put into it. You don’t try to have a good life, and you don’t try to have a bad life; you just let your life follow its own path and just be who you are.” (FAEAG)


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